Steam-trap.



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c. H. ATKms. STEAM TRAP.

(Application .filed Sept. 8, 1900.)

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES H. ATKINS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, RY MESNE ASSIGN-MENTS, TO THE AMERICAN STEAM HEATING SPECIALTY COMPANY, OF CAMDEN, NEWJERSEY, A CORPORATIONOF NEW JERSEY.

STEAM-TRAP.

SPECIFICATION forming* part f Letters Patent N0. 711,272, dated October14, 1902.

Application tiled September 8, 1900. Serial No. 29,389. (No model.)

To all whom it ,may concern: connected to any suitable pipe or passage oBe it known that I, CHARLES HENRY A'l- (not shown) leading to the seweror to any KINS,a citizen of the United States, residing other convenientplace or, if desired, to a at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State apump or other suitable apparatus for draw- 5 of Illinois, have inventedcertain new and ing off thesurplus water or liquid accumuusefulImprovements in Steam Traps, of lated in the shell or chamber l. Theshell lis 55 which the following is a full, clear, and exact providedwith an inner wall 4, which is prefspecification. erably formedtherewith, and is in the form of My invention relates more particularlyto a cylinder arranged concentrically with the lo means for permitting`the escape of water shell l, and the space between this cylinder fromsteam-passages while preventing the 4 and the outer wall of the shell isdivided 6o escape of the steam; and it has for its privertically fromtop to bottom into a plurality mary object to seal the vent or outlet ofthe or series of passages by means of vertical passage against theescape of the gaseous partitions 5. Placed upon the upper end ot'substance by means of a portion of the liquid the shell and having itsbearing as well 'upon and automatically discharge any liquid in theupper ends of the partitions and the 65 excess of such portion. cylinder4 is a plate 6, whose upper face is A further object of my invention isto seal formed with a series of channels 7, at the ends the vent oroutlet of a steam-passage against of which are formed holes or apertures8 9,

zo the escape of steam by means of a portion of respectively, whichextend through the plate the water accumulating therein'and to auto- 6and communicate with the passages be- 7o matically discharge any waterin excess of tween the partitions 5, so as to place one of such portion,while at the same time allowsaid passages in communication with the ingfree discharge of any air that might have next, and so on throughout theentire se- @5 accumulated in the steam-passage. y ries, and dependingfrom the apertures 9 With these ends in view my invention conof each ofthese channels 7 is a tube or pas- 75 sists in certain features ofnovelty in the consage 10 of smaller cross-section than thepasstruction, combination, and arrangement of sage between partitions 5and which compels parts by which the said objects and certainy theliquid or other substance rising in the 3o other objects hereinafterappearing are atpassage between the partitions 5 and crosstained, all asfully described with reference ing over along the channels? to descendto 8e to the accompanying drawings and more parthe bottom of the nextpassage between the ticularly pointed out in the claims. partitions 5before it can escape thereinto,

In the said drawings, Figure l is a vertical the lower ends of the tubes10 being arranged sectional view ofV my improved apparatus, in closepropinquity to the lowerend of the taken on the line l l, Fig. 3. Fig. 2is a shell 1, as clearly illustrated in Figs. l and 85 similar sectiontaken on the line 2 2, Fig. 4. 2. The inlet 2, which is arranged at theup- Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken on the per end of the shell, asshown in Fig. l, line 3 3, Fig. l;V and Fig. 4 is a plan view withdischarges wholly between two of the par-` the cap or cover removed.titions 5, and this passage opposite theinlet 1 represents a shell orcasing which is prois not provided with one of the tubes 10, but 9ovided with a nipple 2, whereby it may be the partition 5 on one sidethereof is cut connected to the Vent of the passage to be away at thebottom, as shown at 11, `to form relieved of the surplus liquid, asbefore decommunication directly with the next passcribed, or of theliquid and air without persage, so that the liquid may rise in thelatter,

mitting the escape of thesteam or other gaseescape upwardly through theaperture S ous substance which it is desired to retain and along thechannel 7, and thence descend therein. The bottom of this shell l isprointo the next vertical passage through the ,vided with anoutlet-nipple 3, which may be first one of the tubes 10, whence it againrises in the vertical passage containing said first tube 10 and crossesover to the next one of the tubes lO and descends, as already de-vscribed, and soA on until the vertical passage adjacent to that intowhich the inlet 2 discharges is reached. The liquid enters this latterpassage through the crossover-channel 7 and the last one of thedepending tubes 10, and after discharging from the latter it rises anddischarges from the vertical passage containing said tube through a topopening 12, formed in the plate 6, and thence into a central cavity 13,via a channel 14, connecting the top opening 12 therewith, the cavity 13being constituted by a depression at about the center of the plate 6, asclearly shown in Figs. l and 4. After entering the cavity 13 the liquiddischarges through onev or more pcrforations 15, formed in the upper endof a central pipe 16, whose lower end is in direct communication withthe youtlet 3. The upper end of the pipe 16 is threaded and has securedthereon a nut 17, which bears upon a cap 18, arranged over the plate 6and constituting the upper sides of the `channels 7and 14 and of thecavity 13. The lower end of the pipe 1G is threaded in a bottom plate 1aoi' the shell 1, which closes thelower ends of the passages formed bythe Vertical partitions 5. If the passage-ways formed by the partitions5 and the tubes 10 be partially filledv with liquid and pressure beapplied at the inlet 2, whether induced by suction at the outlet 3 or byan increase of pressure at the inlet, the liquid will rise in each ofthe passages formed by the partitions 5 until the combined weight of thecolumns counterbalances the pressure at the inlet, and consequently ifsuch pressure be due to steam or gas at the inlet the liquid in thepassages will effectually seal the passage-way to the escape of suchsteam or gas. If a -surplus of water enters through the inlet, it willpass into the first passages formed by the partitions 5 and dischargethe surplus through the tube 10 into the next passage between thepartitions 5, and so on until the surplus water is discharged throughthe .tube 16 and outlet 3 and the counterbalancing-levels are restored.By this means it will be seen that the pressure at the inlet 2 may beeffectually resisted and prevented from escaping by a hydrostatic columnof compact and convenient form.

In many uses to which my invention may be put it is feasible to maintainthe pressure in the inlet 2 at a substantially uniform degree, andconsequently the escape of the steam or other gaseous substance which itis desired to retain in the passage to which the apparatus is appliedmay be prevented at all times by a portion of the liquid contained inthe up and down passages of the apparatus.

When the apparatus is used in connection with steam-passages, it isoften desirable to not only relieve the steam-passage of the surpluswater of condensation accumulating therein, but to'permit the escape ofair and gases therefrom withoutpermittiug the escape of the steam.` Iwill now describe the means whereby this may be automaticallyaccomplished. As shown in Fig. 1, the upper end of the cylinder et isprovided with a small air-vent 18, arranged opposite or in directcommunication with the inlet 2 and at such an elevation that it willnormally be above the level of that portion of the liquid which canremain in the up and down passages without being forced out by thepressure at the inlet 2, and formed in the pipe 16, at a point betweenthe portion inclosed by the cylinder It, is an outlet 19, which permitsany air or water that may find their way between the pipe 16 andcylinder 4 to escape into the outlet 3. Now in order that the airentering the inlet 2 may take this direct passage via the vent 18 and`aperture 19 to the outlet 3 without also permitting the steam to escapeI interpose in this direct passage a porous steam-barrier composed ofsome suitable material which will be pervious to air but impervious tosteam or which, in other words, will cause the steam to condense be- Asuitable of a cylinder 20, which is placed around the l pipe 16 and isclosed at both ends by gaskets 2l 22, which are compressed against theplates la, 6, respectively, the said plates being preferably providedwith annular lianges 23, which center the cylinder 20. Thus it is seenthat the volume of air entering through the vent 1S is spread out over alarge porous area and as a consequence permitted to escape rapidlythrough the aperture 19. It is also evident that any Water which mightfind its wayinto the cylinder Ltwill iinally escape through the outlet3.

Having thus` described my invention, what I claim as new therein, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A device for the purpose speciiied, embracing a liquid passage-waycommunicating at its ends with an inlet and an outlet, and formed of aseries of short communicating up and down passages, the down passagesbeing of a different cross-sectional area from the up passages.

2. A device for the purpose specified embracing a liquid passage-waycommunicating at its ends with an inlet and an outlet, and

formed of a series of short communicating up and down passages, the downpassages being of a different cross-sectional area from the up passages,and means to produce a'lower pressure at the outlet than at the inlet.

3. In a device for the purpose described the combination of a series ofup and down connected passages having communication at v IOO IIO

one end with an inletand provided at the other end with an outlet, adirect passage between said inlet and outlet and a porous substanceclosing said direct passage, substantially as set forth.

4 In a device for the purpose described the combination, of a series ofup and down connected passages having communication at one end with aninlet and provided with an outlet at the other end, a direct passagelead ing from a point at the upper end of said series of up and downpassages to said outlet and a porous substance closing said directpassage, substantially as set forth.

5. In a device for the purpose described the combination, of a series ofup and down passages communicating at one end with an inlet and havingan outlet at the other end, a chamber having direct communication withsaid inlet and outlet and a porous substance intersecting said directcommunication, substantially as set forth.

6. In a device for the purpose described the combination of the shell lhaving the partitions 5 forming vertical passages one of which isprovided with an inlet at the top and an outlet into the next passage atthe bottom, smaller passages depending into said vertical passages andeach having communication at its upper end with the next adjacent largerpassage, the one of said vertical passages most remote from said inletbeing provided with an outlet, substantially as set forth.

7 In a device for the purpose described the combination of the shell 1having the internal cylinder 4 provided with an air-vent at its u pperend and the space between said shell and cylinder divided into verticalpassages one of which has an inlet at its upper end and an outlet at itslower end into the next adjacent passage, the plate 6 secured over theupper ends of said passages and having the apertures 8 and dependingtubes 10 communicating with said apertures and dipping into saidvertical passages, the aperture 12, the channel 14, the cavity 13communicating with said channel 14, the cap 18 arranged over said plate6 and closing said cavity 13, the pipe 16 communicating with cavity 13and passing downwardly through said cylinder and having an aperture inthe side thereof, said cylinder being provided with an outletcommunicating with the lower end of said pipe 16 anda porous cylindersurrounding said pipe 16 around said side opening therein and beingclosed at opposite ends, substantially as set forth.

CHARLES II. ATKINS.

Witnesses:

EDNA B. JOHNSON, F. A. HOPKINS.

